Everything changes
by nayuta
Summary: Sakura leaves konoha. She goes to Ishi no kuni land of rock to train. What will happen from then on? Who will she meet ? Read here. my first fanfic R&R * romance later maybe
1. Chapter 1

I do not own anything.

Prolog

_Dear Tsunda-shishou,_

_I really appreciate your guidance for these past two years, but I think it's time to learn more things about the world…. I'll continue my training and even become stronger to protect the ones precious to me._

_I want to find myself again, that's why I can't stay in Konoha. I've to open my eyes again, to see what lies before me._

_I want a change … I know my responsibilities as a Konoha shinobi … but I also know that you'll understand me._

_You taught me your knowledge, from medical ninjutsu to super inhuman strength, _you _made me strong, worth to be a Konoha kunoichi. I just wanted to say that over these years you've become like a second mother since my parents death…_

_That's why, Thanks for Everything and stay safe. _

_Yours Sakura_

_P.s.: I'm sorry for the extra paperwork. Tell Naruto, Kakashi, Sai and everyone else that I'm sorry for not saying good-bye, but I'm going without any regrets. I'm not sure when I'll be coming back. Tell Naruto not to search for me. _

_I'll remain loyal to Konoha. Always. _

_ooOOoo_

Sakura left the sealed scroll, that only Tsunade could open, on the kitchen table of a now very silent house. Once there was always some kind of action … she missed her mother's cooking …. No.

She couldn't start her new life with old memories. She has to pull herself together!

With new found determination sparkling in her emerald orbs, she made her way out of the old, empty Haruno compound. It was a warm summer night. The moon brightened the night in it's full glory.

The pink haired kunoichi made her way through the village. Every now and then she would lose herself in happy and sad memories, like the training grounds where Tsunade had made her live a living hell… '_Oh _this, _I'll definitely never forget.'_ She thought with a shudder and a low chuckle. But it was also there, where she firstly split the ground with her own fist. It was a great and terrifying feeling at the same time…

The great gates of Konoha came into view.

After she went out of the village hidden in the leaves and she turned around once again. For a while she just looked at the majestic gate; took every detail in.

"Well, it seems like we're not seeing us for a while… The next time I'll go through this gate, I'm definitely going to be stronger, to free Naruto and myself from the past. It's a promise."

She said and grinned from one ear to another in a Naruto-like manner. _**"This definitely isn't the last time you'll see us!"**_**Inner Sakura agreed.**

She turns around and dashes full speed ahead into her new adventure without shedding a single tear.

ooOOoo

~ Next Day ~

It was a nice summer day in Konoha, the birds chirped, civilians running errands or work, children playing on the street and their happy laughter could be heard through the open windows of the hokage tower.

Suddenly a loud 'SHE DID WHAT?' and a 'BANG' sound could be heard from Tsuande's office and caused a few people to pause and look up to the tower.

Meanwhile, in Tsunade's office laid a knocked-out Naruto with a huge bump and the rest of the remaining Team 7 stood by the door.

"Is that all she has left?" asked a silver haired Jonin with a little saddened expression. And even Sai looked sad, well, as much as he could with his emotionless mask. Though, you have to say Team 7 did a good job with this emotionless kid from ANBU root. If you look back to their first meeting you can fairly say that he made a _huge _progress.

"Yes," said the Hokage while frowning, "you are dismissed."

"But-"

"Out, NOW!" she barked and banged her fists on her desk (custom-made for her angry/violent outbreaks, any normal desk would have been a total loss by now). She huffed, as the remaining Team 7 made their way out of her office, and leaned back in her comfortable armchair with a deep-drawn sigh. Memories overwhelmed her.

'_Well, it seems like the day, she came back from the confrontation with that cursed Uchiha-brat, something has changed.'_

Just a week has gone by since their encounter. The sparkling in Naruto's and Sakura's eyes seemed to have dulled since then.

'_If this journey could bring the old Sakura back…or a completely new Sakura, so be it .I think it will do her good to learn new things and cultures and I'm excited to see how she change.'_ At the last thought a small grin played around her lips.

"Well, we will see…."

Just as she finished the sentence her eyes began to widen as a realization struck her. SHE had to deal with the paperwork AND these stuck up and uptight elders. Her eyebrows began to twitch and she lowered her head so that the features of her face were shadowed while a dark aura surrounded her entry body.

"**SAKURA, YOU'RE GOING TO SUFFER WHEN YOU GET BACK HERE!**" she screamed.

ooOOoo

Somewhere at the border of the fire country, Sakura sneezed. Let the journey begin…

ooOOoo

My first fanfic. Help is welcomed. Sorry for my grammar…

Now I need ideas :

I have most of the time just basics for a story … the rest just comes I think… xD

What skills should she posses? Nothing absurd please,… And what should she look like xD

I'm no good in inventing interesting missions, need help for various flashbacks at times. Some interesting things she saw or did…

But a few important things :

Sakura centered fic, she, naruto and sai where 15 they met sasuke again, he tried to kill sakura, that why she DIFINITLY isn't in love with sasuke!

Well maybe he could see what he lost *very dark chuckle*

Just to make it clear it dosen't has to be always a romantic relationship or sth.

I'm very grateful for every idea I get :D see you and review please


	2. Chapter 2

I do not own anything.

ooOOoo

Chapter 1

It has been almost a month ago since Haruno Sakura left Konoha. She needed about a week to get to _Ishi no Kuni. _

The Village Hidden in the Sky _(Soragakure)_ was miles away.

_Ishi no Kuni (Land of Stone) _received its name, because it is coined by stone deserts and wastelands mainly. Like the name already suggest, its capital lies hidden behind the stones.

And there she sat, on a stump, in one of the few green fields of _Ishi no Kuni_, meditating. The meadow was at the edge of a small forest and a small stream was nearby.

The first week here she needed to sort out her thoughts and emotions towards her former teammates, friends and comrades to find her own inner-balance.

She just gave in to her human needs if it was really necessary and in this whole week she just got about thirteen hours of sleep. But now her head was clear; clear of the past and fully concentrated on the oncoming training.

She had to do this because she wanted to test a training method. Well, it was just a fleeting thought, a theory, but she, curious as she was, wants to know what's behind this _theory._ Well not really a theory because she read a little about it…

_Sen-Jutsu are techniques, which, in contrast with normal ninja-techniques, not only use the mental and the physical strength of the user for the foundation of chakra but also includes the energies of the environment._

In short: You can learn to use the energy of the nature/surrounding area for your advantage. But it is dangerous because if you let _too_ much energy enter your body, your body runs the risk to become _too_ much "one with nature" and that could be disastrous. For this training one needs courage and stamina.

The courage is there but…. the stamina… well let's say she needs to work on it. '_Indeed.'_ She thought sarcastically. Stamina brings chakra and this she would need for the training with sen-jutsu.

With a sigh and already a plan in her head for the '_its-gonna-be-a-hell-of-a–training', _she got up to unpack a few scrolls from her backpack. In the few scrolls Sakura had with her, she almost sealed something like her very own library of scrolls and books. Jutsu-scolls, medical department scrolls and books, scrolls she got from Shizune that where about poisons and plants, hell even from her own medical studies to her self-created jutsus.

Yes, self-created jutsus.

About the time Tsunade explained the elements to her she got really exited and worked with her elements Wind (_Fuuton_)and Water (_Suiton_). Moreover she started to create her own techniques unbeknownst to her shishou.

Well that whole part aside, she took a blank scroll and began to scribble down her training schedule for the next year:

_Phase 1:_

_Tai-jutsu: Follow Gai's and Lee's instructions _(she trained a few times with team Gai, because of this she got a murderous _youthful _trainings plan)

_Gen-jutsu: Need to improve, use the scrolls Kurenai got you _(Kurenai was simply said, stunned. Sakura got to her level in just three weeks because of her 'more than average' (A.N.: *cough* perfect) Chakra control)

_ Add train Inner-self _(since her match with Ino in the chunnin-exams preliminaries she thought of her Inner's useful side. If IS could block/stop Ino invading her mind, then maybe she could even dispel more dangerous Gen-jutsus, like the powerful jutsus of a Kekkei Genkei such as Sharingan)

_Nin-jutsu: Medical: train advanced medical healing and fighting abilities, learn storing chakra, perfect your own jutsus and train your weak elements_

_Train my senses._

"That definitely will be the hell of training." She sighed but then looked up with a determined twinkle in her eyes.

"But I will manage it AND succeed!" she said determined. Her small hands formed fists and tightened unnoticed at her sides.

With that, the pinkette pushed herself up from the stump she was leaning against and started her now daily routine with stamina. Therefore she pulled weights out of her backpack and put them on.

Now training begins.

Unbeknownst to her, someone watched her with curious eyes as she started her training.

ooOOoo

"Wheeeew, heaven" Sakura cried out in joy as she let herself slide down into the warm, soaking wet. She must have looked like death warmed over but now since her sore muscles relaxed she at least didn't feel like it anymore, she joked with herself.

'Yes, even _I_ need a good bath sometimes'. Sakura sighed contently.

This time she almost trained herself mentally and physically to expiration.

Today she allowed herself to relax in an onsen (from the little left-over money she had, it was time she accepted some missions again) on a well known travel path a bit. This past four month she trained really hard and accomplished already her sense training and improved herself Nin-jutsu, Gen-jutsu (Inner-self) and rapidly at Tai-jutsu. Everyday she pushed her herself to exhaustion.

But she was a little bit worried. A month ago she started her sense-training aka blindfold, firstly she struggled to keep up her Tai-jutsu training at the same time (well it's really hard if you don't know where you're going) It was confusing. But that's not the point, she began to feel and hear her surroundings and she noticed a foreign chakra.

_~Flashback~_

_During her training she suddenly felt a small flare of chakra hidden at the edge of the forest. She stiffened, her stomach told her to get defensive but her brain told her otherwise.' Keep cool and observe', and that she did._

_If this person wanted to harm her, he or she could have already done so. She relaxed a little but didn't let her guard down. She continued her training but her mind often drifted back to the person hidden in the forest. Somehow it felt familiar..._

_~flashback end~_

After that incident the kunoichi noticed the person more often. But his chakra didn't feel bad natured or dangerous so she didn't really mind anymore. It seemed that the stranger just keeps on watching her.

She got out of the water, toweled herself dry, slipped her sleep clothes on and made her way to a warm futon in her room. Sleep seemed to be the only right thing after today.

ooOOoo

It was now getting colder every week. The leaves start to turn a light brown, orange and yellow. _'Fall's coming.' _Sakura thought while leaning against the stump again reading one of her many scrolls and taking in the few weak sun rays. It has been a month ago now since she was in this fabulous onsen. She noticed that she got leaner more athletic because of Gais's power training and she even had to cut her hair back to its original length.(Her birthday was before she left konoha she's sixteen if you wonder.)

Today was one of the few days she would actually 'rest', '_A wonderful and peaceful day_, _nothing can ruin it.'_

She sighed contently and closed her eyes for a little nap in-between, but then her sense tingled again. The person was back. But today she wouldn't let the person get away. Curiosity got the best of her and a mischievous smile played around her lips.

"You know, I already know that you are there. You can come out now." She said casually and loud enough for him to hear.

He was surprised and hesitant but finally began to walk to the edge of the forest.

Sakura now opened her eyes, which were filled with curiosity and fixed her look on the boy who stood in the shade of one of the trees.

"I won't bite." She said and put on a warm smile. She heard the boy snort as he walked towards her and rolled her eyes.

"Since when do you know that I'm around?" he asked.

"Since two and a half months." She answered.

"Who are you?"

"Would you please introduce yourself first before you ask someone else's name? You know it's rude."

The boy snorted again.

"Fine. My name is Sora."

ooOOoo

Wow it took me HOURS to finish it! I had to rewrite it because I found some faults … please read it again its maybe it's important! Every time I re-read it, I always find faults *depressed* I'm really sorry but the next chapter had to wait a little while, because I was in the middle of my exams and next week I have my last: verbal exam in biology.

Well, now I'm starting to write at it again I already had about to pages ^^

Please rate & review


	3. Chapter 3

I do not own anything. If I did …*dark chuckle* sasuke would have his ass kicked :D

I want to thank my reviewers

**ChicFreakSistaFierce**

**Lisa - **Well, sora isn't exactly my character , i don't like OC characters too. He is from the Filler-episodes of naruto that's why ^^

**Twisted Musalih **

**VALLED**

**angel897**

**MnC21**

**You were all really encouraging; so many, Many thanks to you and all other readers.**

ooOOoo

Chap 2

It was a sunny day like usual, you could hear the birds chirp and summer was in the air. On such a day a young man was on his way to one of the rare small forests in _Ishi no Kuni_. The forest was just a few miles away from the fire temple _(Hi no Tera)_. He wasn't really a person who often leaves the temple, because he was keen in training as a _Ninsō (Ninja-Monk) _even though he wasn't even a monk _real _himself. Since his father's death he was entrusted in the care of these _Ninsō's_.

He folded his arms behind his head and sighed contently. Today's just a perfect day for a walk and a nice nap under a tree. However, he actually wasn't here for fun; his task for today was to collect a few medical herbs they were low of. _'Those herbs are special, and grow just in a certain part of this forest'_, so said Hansai-sama, after the boy asked him why he couldn't just go to the forest which surrounded the temple.

He titled his head slightly so that the sun could warm his face for a while.

At least he could now, when he was away, avoid the glares, the other monks shot at him, for some time_. _To put it in a nutshell: It was pretty exhausting.He sighed again. _Hell,_ he didn't even know why they glared at him. Ever since he can remember they gave him the cold shoulder, or were shooting daggers at him with their glares. The glares made him wary and restless, always feeling unstable and unbelievingly pressured. A frown formed on his face as he tried to connect the dots, but he just wouldn't come to a logical explanation _why_ everyone despised him that much and by now his frustration was visibly shown. "What did I do, to make them hate me?" he cried out to no one in particular and his expression was now a twist of anger, confusion and sadness. He was lonely, that's for sure, and the loneliness made him bitter. The only thing what's left was training.

On the outside the boy always gave them an attitude of an arrogant, tough, uncaring and unbearable kid; it was his armor, his shell to protect himself from their burning glares. It was one of the things that kept him together and alive.

'_Would you mind stopping this meaningless moping?' _he scold himself while he shook his head to clear his mind._ 'It was always like this, so why now all this fuss about it!' _with that he quickened his pace and soon entered the forest.

He strode through it and was already getting to the edge of it, but halted in his movement as his eyes took in the beautiful meadow in front of him. But it wasn't the breath-taking view that made him halt; it was the person who sat in the middle of it on a stump. It wasn't very common to be far away from any civilization (well _Hi no Tera _is just mere miles away but almost nobody knows about its existence; it's forgotten), but that wasn't the only thing, this person was a girl, probably about the same age as him, with _Pink? _hair. He had to blink twice, just to check if his vision hadn't betrayed him. 'This is _definitely_ out of ordinary.' he thought bemused. Slowly concealing his chakra, he began to move forward again, crunching down behind some bushes to hide from her view.

The girl was; as far as he could see; alone. No other people. She seemed fully concentrated on something she was writing down on a scroll. Chin-length pink locks that swayed around her face, a petit form, pale skin and almost completely in black; plain black T-Shirt, black baggy pants, bandages around her wrists and high sandals, which was all he could see from his hiding. But before he could make an attempt to get a closer look at her, the girl in question got up and said something to herself; he couldn't quite make it out but it sounded like "I'll succeed" he supposed it was a motivation line of hers; and walked to her backpack.

He knitted his eyebrows together in confusion as she pulled out some weights and put one on each limb and his eyes widened in surprise and shock as he saw the kanji on it. It read: '30 pounds (15 kg)'. _On each limb?_

Now it was crystal clear. This girl _apparently _wasn't a civilian.

O.O

As soon as she had stretched out her arms and legs, she started to jog in direction of the nearest mountain and surprisingly the weights didn't seem to hinder her greatly, like she was already used to them.

The boy waited patiently a few minutes, just to be sure she didn't see him, and then got up. He still looked at the horizon where she vanished but soon snapped out of it. He was curious.

Yes, curious.

Who was the girl? What's her name? _Pink hair?_ Where did she come from? What are her intentions? _Why_ was she here alone; in the middle of nowhere?

With this unanswered questions swirling in his mind he headed towards the stump.

The girl's black backpack leaned against the stump, endearing, almost pleading him to explore its depth. After a short moment of hesitation he was roaming through it, in hope to find some useful clues about this mysterious girl.

Two sets of clothes, some girl things, money, a forehead protector, scrolls and more scrolls. After a few attempts of trying to open some scrolls, he soon realized that he wouldn't have any access to the information sealed in the scrolls. It seemed that every scroll was sealed with a special jutsu, but he couldn't identify it. He read a few books about seals, but there was no resemblance existent. She must have created it herself or he would have read about it.

Deeply in thoughts he packed her belongings neatly back into her backpack, like it was before, simply not to give her any evidence of him having been here.

Now he did know two things about her. First: She was a shinobi and, without doubts, a skilled one.

Second: She was from Fire.

Apart from that, he now had new questions.

Why would a shinobi from Fire be in a place like this? What brought her to Stone?

At least she shouldn't be considered a foe to the Fire temple. Because, originally the _Ninsō's came _from Fire, but the last contacts they had with the Hokage were _ages_ ago. She actually didn't even seem to be on a mission.

Should he inform the other monks of her? Coming to a conclusion he turned around and stalked away in the direction of _Hi no Tera, _actually forgetting his task of collecting medical herbs. For now, she would be his little 'secret'. At least for a while.

ooOOoo

The moment he slipped he knew it was over. It was just a mere second but it was undeniable that he let his chakra slip. She must have felt it.

Currently he was sitting completely frozen on his butt behind the same bushes he sat about four month ago for the first time. She never seemed to notice him before, but now he must have screwed it all just because he was frighte- _'surprised'_ by a damn bird. The small animal suddenly flew, angry chirping, out of the bushes he was hiding behind, apparently not happy about the person who disturbed it's sleep.

At least he didn't make a sound.

The past four month he came here to see the girl with ridiculous pink hair, in fact he was afraid that the girl would have vanished the second time he sought her out.

He didn't know how it happened but the rosette had enhanced him. He would sneak out of the temple as often as possible just to see her. He watched her training until she collapsed. A few times he even got up, a bit unsure what to do when she fainted, and walked up to her. To his surprise there would always be a satisfied smile on her lips. If she didn't train herself senseless by Tai-jutsu, she would without question study new techniques. Without her knowing, she became a constant shadow of his thoughts.

But now, he is firmly convinced that she knows he is here. He slowly turns his head in anticipation to see the kunoichi in front of him. Letting out a soundless sigh of relief as he saw that his fear was uncalled for. The girl seemed to be completely obvious about him and his near panic state. On one hand he was pleasantly relieved that she didn't discover his location but on the other hand she was an extremely easy target.

According to what he was seeing he was out of danger.

ooOOoo

By now it was getting colder every week. There wasn't much time left until the sun would go away to make space for rain or snow filled dark clouds. It was common for this time of the year.

The rosette wasn't doing anything in particular; she just studied some scrolls again, it was pretty clear that she _loves_ to read. So instead of watching her, he just enjoyed his free time sitting in a tree watching clouds. Since a while, some of the _Ninsō's_ were aware of his constant disappearance during training or chores and told Chiriku-sama about it.

So Chiriku-sama and other Elder _Ninsō's_ questioned him about it. The boy however, wouldn't give them any information. Eventually they gave in and left, while shaking their heads in disappointment.

Well, it wasn't anything new so he just waved it off.

Lazily he turns his head to see if the girl was still doing the same as before, just to see a mischievous grin on her lips. Something seemed off but before he even could pull any intelligible thoughts together the girl had already called out to him.

"You know, I already know that you are there. You can come out now." She said in a casual, loud voice.

It took him about half a minute to comprehend the things she said. Suddenly he got pretty nervous. Silently jumping down the tree, he hesitantly began to walk towards the edge of the forest.

She opens her eyes and stares with vibrant and curiosity filled eyes at him.

"I won't bite," she said while smiling warmly at him. He just snorts and saw her rolling her eyes.

"Since when do you know that I'm around?" he asked.

"Since two and a half months." She answered.

"Who are you?" _was she being serious?_

"Would you please introduce yourself first before you ask someone else's name? You know it's rude."

The boy snorted again.

"Fine. My name is Sora."

ooOOoo

(**Important:** You have to know that the _fire temple,_ like the name already tells, is part of Fire, but lies in Stone. Well, originally it lies in Fire, but I (the author) want it in Stone. Let's just say it has been there for a _very long _time. Back then a peace treaty was made and the _Ninsō _were allowed to build a temple blah blah…; but even with the treaty they kept to themselves, barley noticeable. How exactly the temple financed itself and under whose control it was, however is not known. But after the First World War they were almost totally forgotten, most of the documents about them were destroyed. As if they didn't even exist. The responsible daimyo/hokage died and took all his knowledge with him. Just very few people have ever heard of _Hi no Tera_. Even Fire didn't have any contact or knowledge about them anymore for a very long time… maybe somewhere in the depth of Tsunade's office you could find something about them…. I think you know how I mean it/ don't know maybe I'm going to change this slightly some time)

_Hi no Tera- Fire temple_

_Ninsō's – Ninja monk_

_Ishi no Kuni – Land of rock / stone_


End file.
